Without a doubt, the Web has been good to bacon. Closet bacon fanatics have united around recipes for bacon chocolates, bacon vodka and the culty "Bacon Explosion" meatloaf. Now Hormel's
Spam, another underestimated pork product, wants some of that online action. Claiming that Spam can "spice up" any ordinary meal, the company Web site -- with nary a sliver of irony -- is
introducing a recipe ratings program designed to be shared by diehard Spammers. Starting with dozens of spam-and-eggs combos, the new recipe exchange asks fans to register so they can vote on the
dishes and add their own versions. Along with gathering email addresses (but promising not to, er, spam them), the recipes also serve as fodder for Spam's 25,000-member Facebook page and its fledgling
Twitter account.
Further skirting the edges of parody, the Spam site goes on to dish out cooking tips from the winners of past offline recipe contests. The brand's sincerity certainly can
be amusing, but the missing link in Spam's campaign are the over-the-top creations that keep bacon's online buzz crackling.
C'mon Hormel, how about some Spam chocolate chip cookies?